Adjustable and Expandable Packaging for Shipping of Items

ABSTRACT

Provided is an adjustable packaging product comprising a padded sheet, the padded sheet comprising a padding material affixed to a surface of a sheet of packaging material, wherein the adjustable packaging product comprises perforations along which a section or sections of the adjustable packaging product may be separated, and wherein an adhesive material is provided at a periphery of each of the sections of the adjustable packaging product.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/571,523, filed on Oct. 12, 2017 entitled Adjustable Packaging for Shipping of Items, the contents of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Resellers, such as Amazon, often have to place items that are already packaged in another box or envelope to ship the items to their final destination with the customer. Often times these boxes/envelopes are too big for the item being shipped and the additional space is filled with Styrofoam peanuts or bubble wrap. The differential in cost of shipping an item in a heavy cardboard box compared to an envelope is not insignificant, especially for volume shippers.

In particular, online retailers incur many costs, the largest of which is typically the cost of goods sold. After the cost of goods sold, the cost of shipping products is typically one of the largest expenses online retailers incur. Almost all retailers use a combination of cardboard boxes and envelopes to deliver products. Since the 1890's, cardboard boxes have been utilized by manufacturers and wholesalers to ship bulk quantities to retailers. In this context, cardboard boxes are very useful. However, conventional distribution channels where products flow from manufacturers to wholesalers to retailers to consumers are rapidly changing. New e-commerce channels are enabling manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to ship products directly to consumers. This paradigm shift in distribution identifies a need for new methods of packaging, shipping and delivery of products to consumers. Although adjustable packaging for cardboard boxes exists, the packaging is not easily cut and folded, and is generally difficult to use. Thus, improved methods of packing items for shipping are desired.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of the present inventive concept provide an adjustable packaging product for shipping items. The adjustable packaging product includes a sheet of packaging material having a first surface and a second surface, one of the first surface and second surface having a padding material affixed thereto. The adjustable packaging product includes perforations along which a section or sections of the adjustable packaging product may be separated. An adhesive material is provided at a periphery of the section or sections of the adjustable packaging product.

Still further embodiments of the present inventive concept provide a packaging product of a predetermined size for shipping items. The packaging product includes a sheet of packing material having the predetermined size, the sheet of packing material having a first surface and a second surface. A padding material is affixed to one of the first and second surface of the sheet of packaging material. An adhesive material is provided at a periphery of the packaging product of the predetermined size.

Still further embodiments of the present inventive concept provide an expandable packaging product for shipping items having various sizes. The expandable packaging product may include a non-rigid package having an expansion area, the expansion area configured to expand and/or contract to accommodate items of various sizes for shipping.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an image of a conventional self-seal bubble lined envelope and a box associated therewith.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating adjustable packaging in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

FIGS. 2B through 2D are a series of diagrams illustrating a boxed item being wrapped with the adjustable packaging of FIG. 2A in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of packaging an item for shipment in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating adjustable packaging having sections of various sizes in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating adjustable packaging in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating expandable bag packaging receiving a boxed item in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating expandable bag packaging receiving a bulky light weight pillow in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a tube of adjustable packaging in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventive concept now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrative embodiments of the inventive concept are shown. This inventive concept may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventive concept to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,” “including” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. Furthermore, “connected” or “coupled” as used herein may include wirelessly connected or coupled. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this inventive concept belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. [0019-] When shipping products in bulk from a manufacturer to a wholesaler or retailer, the weight of a cardboard box as a percentage of the total weight of the package is negligible. However, when products are shipped directly to consumers, many products are shipped individually and may require their own packaging. The weight of the packaging as a percentage of the total weight of the package can be considerable, especially when shipping lighter, bulky items. For example, when shipping pillows, bedding comforters, towels, clothing, and the like, the weight of the box as a percentage of the total package weight is relatively large. For lightweight, bulky, soft-goods that are not easily damaged in transit, there is generally no need to ship these items in heavy cardboard boxes.

Additionally, there are thousands of products that are individually boxed and do not generally require the additional protection of a heavy cardboard box. Examples of products with individual, protective packaging include shoes in shoe boxes, cookies in tin containers, boxes of rice and grain, tennis balls in plastic tubes, and electronics in foam or plastic packaging. In these cases, the products are already packaged separately in packaging that provides adequate protection for the products. Many products are individually packaged by manufacturers as the final step of the manufacturing process to display their brand names for marketing, provide protection to the products, and in some cases to increase their shelf life. So as these products already have protective packaging in place, only a lightweight shell could be used to protect them from dirt, dust, rain and other elements that could tarnish the product while in transit to the consumer.

Conventional padded envelopes are limited to small sizes and are flat. The largest size of padded envelope currently sold by the largest supplier of shipping supplies in the United States is 34″×36″. Furthermore, existing padded envelopes have limited girth and are not conducive to shipping bulky items.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present inventive concept provide a novel approach to packaging lightweight, bulky items that do not require the protection of a heavy cardboard box. Some embodiments of the present inventive concept may provide a solution for packaging and shipping products that are already individually packaged in a protective enclosure. Embodiments discussed herein may reduce the likelihood of a situation where a box is shipped inside another box.

Actual weight and dimensional weight factor into the total cost of shipping. Where actual weight is the measured weight of a package; dimensional weight reflects the package density, which is the amount of space a package occupies in relation to its actual weight. Most domestic and international parcel shipping companies, such as FedEx and UPS, determine billable weight as the greater of actual weight or dimensional weight. Therefore, it may be beneficial to use the smallest size packaging available so that the product just fits into the packaging. Any excess space in packaging may result in higher shipping costs for the parcel than the shipping entity would otherwise pay as calculated from the actual weight.

Thus, embodiments of the present inventive concept provide a reduction in shipping costs of parcels, whether shipped by businesses or individuals. In particular, in accordance with embodiments discussed herein, for any given size of packaging larger than a flat bubble envelope, the cost of packaging in accordance with the inventive concept will likely be less than the cost of a cardboard box. Furthermore, for any given size of packaging larger than a flat bubble envelope, the actual weight of the packaging in accordance with the inventive concept is likely less when compared to the actual weight of cardboard boxes, thus reducing billable weight. Finally, adjustable packaging in accordance with embodiments discussed herein basically ensures as little, or no, empty or wasted space in the packaging that may increase dimensional weight.

As discussed above, items that are already packaged in a box or envelope generally have to be placed in another box to ship the items to their final destination with the customer. Often times these boxes/envelopes are too big for the item being shipped and the additional space is filled with Styrofoam peanuts or bubble wrap. The differential in the cost of shipping an item in a heavy box versus a less heavy envelope can be significant, such as ten or more times the cost. For example, the differential in the cost of shipping an item in a heavy cardboard box (0.8 lb) compared to a similarly sized envelope (0.1 lb) is on the order of eight times. The difference in shipping cost between a padded envelope and a similarly sized box may be a dollar or more. Thus, for sellers shipping thousands of items a month, the shipping costs increase rapidly. In fact, for e-commerce companies, shipping may be one of the biggest monthly expenses incurred.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present inventive concept recognize that certain items may not need the full protection of another box. As used herein, these “items” may include, for example, items in a packaged box, items made of hard plastic or rubber, items positioned in tin or metal enclosures, and soft items, such as pillows and blankets. These types of items generally do not fit into a pre-sized padded envelope, for example, 6×10 inch, 8½×12 inch and the like. Referring to FIG. 1, an image of a conventional bubble lined envelope 100 having an adhesive strip 105 covered by a protective strip 115 will be discussed. The protective strip 115 is removed and the adhesive strip 105 is folded over onto the envelope 100 to seal the contents inside the envelope 100. However, as further illustrated in FIG. 1, a similarly sized standard box 110 may not properly fit within the envelope 100. Thus, a much larger envelope may have to be used to ship the box 110, which would cause a lot of wasted packaging/material. Furthermore, there is a size limit to the available bubble lined/padded envelopes, such as a 24″×36″ jumbo craft envelope provided by ULINE, which is traditionally used for shipping artwork. Accordingly, some embodiments of the present inventive concept provide adjustable size packaging for items that do not generally need additional protection, such as box 110 of FIG. 1. Providing adjustable packaging in accordance with embodiments discussed herein may save companies thousands of dollars a month on shipping costs alone. These savings in shipping costs may be related to a lower per unit cost of an envelope versus a box; less actual “total weight;” less dimensional weight and fewer number of box/envelope sizes needed in inventory.

Embodiments of the present inventive concept are suitable for use by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to ship directly to consumers as well as individuals to ship to one another. Adjustable packaging, such as the adjustable packaging products as discussed herein may be offered for sale at local stores, such as Office Depot, UPS store, and the like for people to use for their individual packing needs.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, a roll of adjustable packaging product 230 in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept will be discussed. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the adjustable packaging product 230 is rolled into a roll 250. The rolled adjustable packaging product 230 includes a sheet of packaging material 231 having a padding material 235 affixed to a surface thereof. As used herein, “packaging material” refers to any material that can be used to protect a package and/or its contents as discussed herein, such as paper. However, embodiments of the inventive concept are not limited thereto. For example, the packaging material may be plastic, such as, but not limited to, 2.5 mil polyethylene, without departing from the present inventive concept. The packaging material 231 has two surfaces. A first surface of the packaging material may just be the packaging material itself, e.g., paper or plastic, and the second surface of the packaging material may include the padding material 235 thereon. The padding material 235 illustrated in FIG. 2A is bubble padding 235, but embodiments of the present inventive concept are not limited to this configuration. As used herein, “padding material” refers to any material that provides protection for the package, for example, bubble padding, foam padding and the like. Providing the adjustable packaging product 230 in an adjustable roll 250 allows a retailer to stock one item instead of dozens of package sizes, which would save shelf and storage space.

Referring again to FIG. 2A, the adjustable packaging product 230 is segmented-into sections S1 to SN having a length L and a width W. The sections S1 to SN are not limited to a specific size and may even be different sizes to accommodate different size packages as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 4. As illustrated therein, sections S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 and SN all have different lengths. Furthermore, S7 and SN are shown having a vertical perforation therebetween to create different widths W2 and W3 for the adjustable packaging. Although the vertical perforation is only shown on the top section of FIG. 4, embodiments of the present inventive concept are not limited to this configuration. The vertical perforation may extend the entire length of the roll without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. Thus, referring again to FIG. 2A, some packages may be too big to be covered by a single section S1, but may be too small for two whole sections S1 and S2. Thus, in some embodiments, the section S2 may be half the size of the first section S1 to accommodate the specific size of the item being wrapped. Thus, although FIG. 2A illustrates all the sections S1-SN having a similar size, various sizes may be implemented as illustrated in FIG. 4 without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept.

It will be understood that FIG. 4 is provided to illustrate variable sizing of the sections only and, thus, the further details illustrated on the adjustable packaging 230 of FIG. 2A are not illustrated therein. However, these details may be included with variable sizing embodiments without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept.

Referring again to FIG. 2A, each of the sections S1-SN is separated by a perforation 245 to allow for easy customization to a size of an item being shipped without the use of a cutting implement, such as a knife, scissor or the like. Near the perforations in and the edges of the roll 250, removable portions 240 and 241 of padding may be provided. As illustrated, removable portions 240 run along an edge of the roll along the length L and removable portions 241 span across the width W of the roll in line with the perforation. The benefit provided by the removable portions 240 and 241 is when using larger pieces of the roll that span across more than one perforation, the bubble wrap/padding provides continuous protection to the item being shipped. When removed, the removable portions 240 and 241 reveal an adhesive material thereunder. In other words, the removable portion 240 includes a padded surface, for example, bubbled surface, and reveals an adhesive material underneath. In some embodiments, the adhesive material may be provided as an adhesive strip.

It will be understood that in some embodiments of the present inventive concept, removable strips may be provided without padding to reveal adhesive strips thereunder. These removable strips may be provided in the same locations as the removable portions 240 and 241. Thus, in some embodiments, padded portions may not be provided over the adhesive material.

Thus, unlike the box in FIG. 1 that does not fit into a similarly sized envelope and a much larger envelope would be used creating increased cost and waste, embodiments of the present inventive concept provide packaging having a customized size suited for the particular item being shipped. In particular, referring now to FIGS. 2B through 2D, an item 110′ being shipped can be wrapped using a section or sections of roll 250 discussed with respect to FIG. 2A. Referring first to FIG. 2B, a properly sized piece of packaging 230′ of the roll 250 is selected to fit the size of the item 110′ being shipped. The properly sized piece of packaging 230′ of the roll 250 is wrapped around the item as illustrated in FIG. 2C and secured using adhesive strips (not shown) discussed with respect to FIG. 2A. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2D, the item 110′ is wrapped in the piece of packaging 230′ without using more of the adjustable packaging 230 than has to be used.

Referring now to the flowchart of FIG. 3, methods for packing an item to be shipped in accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept will be discussed. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the method begins at block 360 by unrolling the adjustable packaging to the proper size. Once the proper size is determined, the selected portion of the adjustable packaging is removed from the roll 250 using the perforations 245 (block 365). The removable portions(s) 240 is (are) removed to reveal an adhesive strip (block 370). The exposed adhesive is folded over to wrap the item being packaged/shipped (block 375).

Thus, in accordance with embodiments discussed herein items may be packed and shipped in customized size packaging. Reducing excess amounts of packaging by customizing the size of the packaging may not only reduce shipping costs, but may also reduce waste.

Referring now to FIG. 5, in some embodiments of the present inventive concept, adjustable packaging 570 is provided in predetermined sizes having a certain length L and width W. The size could be small enough to wrap small items, such as a small jewelry box, or large enough to wrap very large items, such as a television box, or anywhere in between. In these embodiments, the removable portions 540 may be provided on all 4 edges of the adjustable packaging 570. As discussed above, when the removable portions 540 are removed, an adhesive strip is revealed, which can be used to wrap the item to be shipped without using tape or other type of fastener.

Similar to the roll of adjustable packaging discussed with respect to FIG. 2A, embodiments illustrated in FIG. 5 may include some type of padding material 535 to protect the items being shipped and when the removable portions 540 are removed, the padding material may be removed therewith in those areas. It will be further understood that some embodiments provide only adhesive strips with no padding thereon as discussed above with respect to FIG. 2A.

Providing the adjustable packaging in various sizes as discussed with respect to FIG. 5 allows the correct size of packaging to be selected for the item being shipped and allows the items to be wrapped quickly with the use of the built in adhesive strips. Thus, embodiments of the present inventive concept illustrated in FIG. 5, like those illustrated above with respect to FIG. 2A, allow reduction in the amount of waste as well as shipping costs.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an expandable bag packing in accordance with embodiments of the present inventive concept will be discussed. As illustrated therein, in some embodiments of the present inventive concept provide a bag 680 for shipping “items” 610 includes an expansion area 681. The expansion area 681 allows the bag 680 to adjust to different size items being positioned therein. For example, the bag 680 can expand to accommodate items 610 having depths to D1 to DN. The bags 680 themselves may be provided in various sizes and each of the various sizes may accommodate items having various depths D1 to DN. Once the item 610 is positioned in the bag 680, the bag 680 may include adhesive strips 685 thereon to facilitate closing the bag 680 before shipping the item 610. Although only two adhesive strips 685 are illustrated on the bag 680 in FIG. 6, embodiments of the present inventive concept are not limited to this configuration. For example, more or fewer adhesive strips in the same or different locations may be provided without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. Furthermore, some embodiments may not include adhesive strips at all and may be secured with tape. Although not shown in FIG. 6, expandable bags 680 in accordance with embodiments of the present inventive concept may include padding therein without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept.

Furthermore, although the expansion area 681 is shown as having a single fold in FIG. 6, embodiments of the present inventive concept are not limited to this configuration. In some embodiments, the sides of the bag 680 may have multiple folds resembling an accordion, i.e., having an accordion-type structure, which may expand and contract to accommodate the particular depth of the item 610 being shipped.

As further illustrated in FIG. 7, expandable bags 680 in accordance with embodiments discussed herein may be used to ship any item that does not need the protection of a sturdy box, for example, a pillow 715 illustrated in FIG. 7. As discussed above, expandable bags 680 could be made in standardized sizes to be used instead of the most commonly used box sizes. For example, the sizes could be specific to shoe boxes, standard pillows or a backpack. The expandable bags 680 may be configured to fold flat for easy storage, which would result in a reduction of space needed in a storage area.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a roll of another adjustable packaging product 830 in-accordance with some embodiments of the present inventive concept will be discussed. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the adjustable packaging product 830 is tubular in form that may be flattened and rolled into a roll 850. The adjustable packaging product 830 includes a tubular packaging material 831 having a padding material 835 affixed to a surface thereof. The packaging material 831 may be, for example, paper or plastic, such as are described for the packaging material 831 of adjustable packaging product 230 illustrated in FIG. 2A. The tubular packaging material 831 has two surfaces, an outer surface that may be the packaging material itself, e.g., paper or plastic, and an inner surface, which may include the padding material 835 thereon. The padding material 835 illustrated in FIG. 8 is bubble padding, but embodiments of the present inventive concept or not limited thereto. The padding material 835 may be, for example, bubble padding, foam padding and the like. Providing the adjustable packaging product 830 in an adjustable roll 850 allows for a retailer to stock one item instead of dozens of package sizes, thus saving in shelf and storage space.

Referring again to FIG. 8, The adjustable packaging product 830 may be segmented into sections, T1 to TN. The sections T1 to TN are not limited to a specific length, and may even be of different lengths to accommodate different sized items. Each of the sections T1-TN is separated by a perforation 845 to allow for easy separation and customization of a section or sections of the packaging product to a size of an item being shipped without use of a cutting implement, such as a knife, scissor or the like.

In the specification, there have been disclosed embodiments of the inventive concept and, although specific terms are used, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The following claim is provided to ensure that the present application meets all statutory requirements as a priority application in all jurisdictions and shall be construed as setting forth the scope of the present inventive concept. 

That which is claimed is:
 1. An adjustable packaging product for shipping items, the adjustable packaging product comprising: a sheet of packaging material having a first surface and a second surface, one of the first surface and second surface having a padding material affixed thereto, wherein the adjustable packaging product comprises perforations along which a section or sections of the adjustable packaging product may be separated; and wherein an adhesive material is provided at a periphery of the section or sections of the adjustable packaging product.
 2. The adjustable packaging product of claim 1, wherein the sheet of packaging material is one of a sheet of paper material and a sheet of plastic material.
 3. The adjustable packaging product of claim 1, wherein the adhesive material is provided under removable portions of padding material.
 4. The adjustable packaging product of claim 1, wherein the adhesive material is provided as an adhesive strip.
 5. The adjustable packaging product of claim 1, wherein the adjustable packaging product is provided in a form of a roll from which the section or sections of the adjustable packaging product may be separated.
 6. The adjustable packaging product of claim 1, wherein section or sections of the adjustable packaging product are provided in more than one size and/or shape.
 7. The adjustable packaging product of claim 1, wherein the padding material is one of a bubble material and a foam material.
 8. The adjustable packaging product of claim 1, wherein the perforations along which the section or sections of the adjustable packaging product may be separated are provided both lengthwise and widthwise along the adjustable packaging product.
 9. The adjustable packaging product of claim 1, wherein the adhesive material is provided at a periphery of all sides of the section or sections of the adjustable packaging product.
 10. A packaging product of a predetermined size for shipping items, the packaging product comprising: a sheet of packing material having the predetermined size, the sheet of packing material having a first surface and a second surface; and a padding material affixed to one of the first and second surface of the sheet of packaging material, wherein an adhesive material is provided at a periphery of the packaging product of the predetermined size.
 11. An expandable packaging product for shipping items having various sizes, the expandable packaging product comprising a non-rigid package having an expansion area, the expansion area configured to expand and/or contract to accommodate items of various sizes for shipping.
 12. The expandable packaging product of claim 11, wherein the expandable packaging product further comprises at least one section of adhesive material to facilitate closing of the expandable packaging product before shipping.
 13. The expandable packaging product of claim 12, wherein the at least one section of adhesive material comprises at least one adhesive strip.
 14. The expandable packaging product of claim 11, wherein the expansion area is configured to adjust to packaging having varying depths.
 15. The expandable packaging product of claim 11, wherein the expandable packaging product further comprises padding material therein.
 16. The expandable packaging product of claim 15, wherein padding material therein is one of a bubble padding and a foam padding.
 17. The expandable packaging product of claim 11, wherein sides of the expansion area have an accordion-type structure.
 18. The expandable packaging product of claim 11, wherein the expandable packaging product is configured to fold flat for storage.
 19. An adjustable packaging product for shipping items, the adjustable packaging product comprising: a packaging material of a tubular form having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface having a padding material affixed thereto, wherein the adjustable packaging product comprises perforations along which a section or sections of the adjustable packaging product may be separated. 